3 new Michelin Auto Professional centres in Scotland

Michelin has added three new Michelin Auto Professional (MAP) centres in Scotland. Abbotsinch Tyres & Exhausts, in Kilmarnock, Skidz, in Falkirk, and Stewartry Tyres Newton Stewart, based on the Creeside Industrial Estate in Newton Stewart, have all been added to the network. MAP advocate dealerships get access to free on-site staff training and participation in Michelin’s mystery shopper programme, among other advantages. Michelin will also audit the centres’ digital presence while imparting advice on maximising all online opportunities; MAPS can also access TyreAssist for their customers, protecting new Michelin or BFGoodrich tyres purchased with free 24/7 roadside assistance.

Abbotsinch Tyres & Exhausts has been serving the Kilmarnock and Ayrshire area for more than 20 years. Business owner Andrew Findlay says: “We’re delighted to be welcomed aboard the MAP programme. The TyreAssist offer is a big plus; anything that we can pass on to our customers is great, so having that free breakdown service on all Michelin and BFGoodrich tyres is a real bonus.

“Michelin is obviously a very well-respected brand and being part of its accredited network gives our customers that added confidence and boosts our reputation as a trusted tyre centre even further.”

Falkirk’s Skidz, one of three new MAP accredited tyre dealers in Scotland

Skidz was set up in 1995 by owner and director Craig Crosbie – who, at the age of 21, received a grant from The Prince’s Trust to get the business off the ground. The company has gone from strength-to-strength over the past 24 years, moving to a purpose-built 6,500 sq ft showroom / workshop facility in 2010. It now employs 15 staff and has an annual turnover of approximately £3 million, dealing in high-end alloy wheels and tyre sales.

Crosbie says: “The Michelin MAP accreditation is great for Skidz. It gives us added recognition, especially in the high-end sector. All my staff will really benefit from the training on offer and it’s down to them, as much as anything else, that we’ve been given this positive recognition. Hopefully it will help us drive sales even further.

“I would like to say a big thanks to Michelin for choosing us. It’s a product and a brand we’ve always admired and it’s fantastic to be recognised as an accredited Michelin centre.”

Donald McIntyre, owner of Stewartry Tyres Newton Stewart – which sells more than 15,000 car, truck and agriculture tyres a year – says: “I’ve had a long association with Michelin, probably more than 30 years now, and have always been a huge advocate of the brand.

“Joining the MAP programme is a great opportunity for us. The additional benefits we can get from the training, in health and safety for instance, will be a big help and the added value of the TyreAssist offer for our customers was also a big draw. All these things can only help the business.”

Andy Aylward, Michelin’s retail programme manager for the UK and Ireland, says: “The appointment of the three new dealers forms part of a strategy by Michelin to grow our network in Scotland, by identifying the very best independent dealers. The new additions join Jim’s Garage on the Shetland Isles, which is the most northerly MAP dealer in the UK and a long-standing member of the programme.”